A mental health activist who bumped shoulders with the stars is fighting for her life after she was stabbed in her home and her mother was murdered.
Meera Varma, who worked with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey on mental health initiatives, was attacked at her Burbank home early Monday.
A suspect broke into their house and butchered her mom Arti Varma while her father was away in India. A neighbor said he had surveillance video showing the suspect fleeing the scene.
It is unclear how the suspect knew the pair or if the stabbing was random. The incident happened around 6 a.m. in the 2800 block of North Brighton Street.
A friend who spoke to Meera’s father, who is also Arti’s husband, said he was inconsolable. Neighbor Victor Goli said: “He couldn’t even speak right… He was crying.”
Meera worked with former President Biden and talk show icon Oprah Winfrey.
A website biography says the daughter is a “nationally recognized Mental Health Activist and TEDx speaker with 10+ years of experience working with federal, private, and nonprofit entities.”
“She is deeply committed to reducing suicide rates through policy change and by fostering conversations about mental health on an interpersonal level,” it adds.
The website notes that Meera has also worked with former First Lady Jill Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
Meera was a vocal advocate for suicide prevention.
“It is so important for us to have these conversations around mental health because suicide is the second-leading cause of death for people 10-14 and 20-34.
“That is something that can be prevented by talking about it,” she told ABC 7 at a UCLA health event in 2023 alongside actor Lisa Kudrow.
Her mother, Arti, was a second-grade teacher at Bret Harte Elementary School in the Burbank school district.
She’s the second teacher to be murdered from the school in recent years. A neighbor said she died from her wounds, while Meera remains hospitalized.
Neighbors have been stunned by the attack. “It was kind of a shock to hear just a few minutes ago that their house was broken into,” Goli told ABC 7.
Another neighbor said she shared video with the police that shows the suspect. Cops say the victims’ relationship with the suspect is unclear.
“The relationship, if any, between the suspect and the victims remains under investigation,” Burbank police said.
A friend of Arti’s said she “was an amazing teacher” and “such a bright light.”
She also noted the attack worries her and the neighborhood, and she can’t imagine someone would want to attack them.
“Is it something that we have to worry about as a neighborhood?” Strattan said. “If it’s someone they know that makes it even harder to process because they were such a good people. I can’t imagine someone would intentionally want to hurt them.”
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